Alliance Online News: Health Care Enrollment Toolkit Online

Newsletters | September 10, 2013

Everyone working to end homelessness knows someone who is experiencing homelessness who can benefit from health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. On Tuesday, October 1, a new Health Insurance Marketplace will open for every state, which means all people experiencing homelessness will be able to find out what benefits they will be eligible for.

With enrollment through healthcare.gov starting in just a few weeks, advocates are already preparing to help people access new benefits. Advocates can find in-depth information about enrollment in a new toolkit from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Alliance and other national groups partnered with SAMHSA on the toolkit, which is designed to help advocates enroll people.

"Getting Ready for the Health Insurance Marketplace," is a 30-minute online presentation that comes with an assortment of communications resources: brochures, fact sheets, videos, posters, flyers, and more. The toolkit covers:

The health care law and how it helps people with mental and substance use disorders;

Congress Expected to Pass Continuing Resolution
After returning yesterday from their August recess, congressional leaders are expected to resume negotiating fiscal year (FY) 2014 funding as early as this week. Prior to departing for the August recess, the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) bill, which funds virtually all federal affordable housing and homeless assistance programs, was pulled from the floor due to insufficient support from members of both parties. Although the Senate version of the bill initially seemed to have sufficient support to pass through the chamber, it, too, was ultimately stalled.

With only eight legislative days left until the end of the fiscal year, none of the 12 appropriations bills have passed through both chambers of Congress. Therefore, it is likely that members of Congress will negotiate an FY 2014 Continuing Resolution (CR), a stopgap funding measure that would keep the government running beyond the end of the fiscal year on September 30. The stopgap measure is likely to be a short-term measure, funding the government at post-sequestration FY 2013 levels for the upcoming one to three months until a larger budget agreement is reached.

Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Reducing Waste in Housing Programs
This morning, Tuesday, September 10, at 10 a.m. ET, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled, "Reducing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Housing Programs: Inspector General Perspectives." The purpose of the hearing was to examine the recommendations set forth in the HUD Office of Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress for improving the management and oversight of programs administered by HUD. David Montoya, inspector general for HUD, served as the sole witness. You can view a memo about the hearing here; more information will be provided here shortly.

Congressional Recess Schedule
The House will depart this Friday, Sept. 13, for a brief recess for Yom Kippur. The Senate is expected to stay in session until the Columbus Day holiday.

The recent program award for Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) almost tripled the number of grantees operating this program. As a result, the Alliance has been receiving a lot of questions from grantees about the program. In this blog post, we provide a quick breakdown of what information is available, and where you can find it.

Homelessness and poor housing makes it harder child welfare agencies to achieve positive outcomes for the families and children these agencies serve. In this post, we look at how partnerships between child welfare agencies and homeless service organizations can help address the housing needs of child welfare-involved homeless families.